The Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team fell to Memphis on Saturday evening by a final score of 76-74. The Tigers move to 3-1 on the season, while NKU falls to 4-2.
STATS LEADERS
· Lavone Holland II finished with 19 points and eight assists.
· Jordan Garnett added 15 points, and Drew McDonald had 10 points and eight rebounds in the game.
TURNING POINT
· Jordan Garnett hit a three-pointer to cut the Memphis lead to 75-74 with 25 seconds to play. After the Tigers missed two free throws, NKU regained possession of the ball. Holland brought the ball up the court and made a nice move to get to the rim, but his layup attempt was blocked by David Nickelberry. The Norse fouled with five seconds left, and Jamal Johnson converted one of his two free throws to bring the score to 76-74. Holland took a three-pointer as time expired, but it just missed.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
· The Norse jumped out to an 11-2 lead at the first media timeout thanks to an 8-0 run.
· NKU hit four of its first six shots to begin the game.
· The Norse led by as much as 16 points during the first half and took a 40-31 lead into the break.
· Holland and Garnett each had eight points in the half, and eight different players scored for the Norse.
· NKU went 15-of-31 (48.4%) from the floor during the period and held Memphis to 12-of-32 (37.5%) shooting.
· Each team had 19 rebounds and nine assists in the first half.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
· Memphis cut the Norse lead to 44-41 with 16:47 to play in the second half.
· NKU was able to extend its lead to 56-47 on a Mason Faulkner three-pointer with 11:59 remaining.
· The Tigers battled back and took their first lead of the game at 59-58 with 8:58 to play. Memphis had an 8-0 run over a stretch of 1:10 midway through the half.
· The Tigers got their lead to as much as eight in the half, but the Norse cut the lead to 75-74 with 25 seconds left on Garnett’s three-pointer. Despite getting within one point, Memphis was able to prevent NKU from scoring a potential game-winner to seal the 76-74 victory.
· The Norse shot 12-of-30 (40.0%) in the half, while Memphis went 15-of-24 (62.5%) from the floor.
· The Tigers were 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the charity stripe in the half and had a 20-11 advantage in rebounds.
GAME NOTES
· NKU finished the game 27-of-61 (44.3%) on field goals, and Memphis was 27-of-56 (48.2%) from the floor.
· The Norse recorded 18 assists during the game and forced 14 Memphis turnovers.
· The Tigers shot 28 free throws in the game compared to 14 for the Norse.
· NKU has lost both of its games this season by just two points.
NEXT UP
· NKU hosts Berea College on Wednesday, Nov. 29. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at BB&T Arena.
#TakeNotice
Ryan Wilker
Northern Kentucky University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
